Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

* Read this Hockey's Future interview with Ryan McDonough2006-07: McDonagh opted to stay at Cretin-Derham for his senior season after finishing the 05-06 AA on a state championship team. The smooth skating blueliner may not have improved statistically, but put on some size and polished his two-way game. McDonough was named Mr. Hockey and first-team all-state by the AP. He finished his season playing for the US U-18 team in the World Championships. McDonagh is widely regarded as the top pro prospect coming out of the Minnesota HS for the 07 draft, will tryout for the USA WJC team in August ’07 and play for Wisconsin (WCHA) in the 07-08 season.

1st round (12th overall), 2007 by Montreal

2007-08: In his freshman season with the University of Wisconsin (WCHA), McDonagh was named to the 2008 WCHA All-Rookie Team. He was named WCHA Rookie of the Week on Dec. 4. He skated in every game during the 2007-08 season and had back-to-back multi-point games at Michigan State (Nov. 24) and against St. Cloud State (Nov. 30). He tied for third on the team among rookies with 12 points and shared the team lead among defensemen with five goals on a team that led the nation’s defensemen with 26 tallies. His first career goal was scored against Robert Morris on Oct. 20, the game-winner. McDonagh was additionally named to the INCH. Com Preseason All-Rookie Team.

2008-09: McDonagh skated in 36 games for Wisconsin as a sophomore and also played for Team USA in the 2009 World Junior U-20 Championship. McDonagh scored 5 goals with 11 assists and was -2 with 59 PMs in a top-four role for the Badgers. He was arguably the top defensive defensemen for Team USA, chipping in 3 assists and finishing a team-best +5 with only 2 PMs despite playing a very physical style. McDonagh was obtained by the Rangers from Montreal as part of a seven-player trade in June 2009.

2009-10: McDonagh played a key role in Wisconsin's trek to the Frozen Four championship game. McDonagh appeared in all 43 games as a junior for the Badgers and was named to the WCHA Second All-Star team. He scored 4 goals with 14 assists and was +22 with 73 PMs. The Badgers, after finishing second to Denver in the regular season, won 6 of 7 post-season games (including the WCHA third-place game against the Pioneers) before falling to Boston College in the NCAA championship game. McDonagh signed an entry-level deal with the Rangers in July 2011; foregoing his senior season with Wisconsin.

2010-11: McDonagh joined the Rangers in January after opening the season with AHL Connecticut and by the end of the season was regularly playing 20-plus minutes per game. McDonagh finished the regular season with 1 goal and 8 assists in 40 games and was +16 with 14 PMs. In the Rangers' five-game playoff series with Washington he was scoreless with an even plus/minus and played a season-high 32 minutes in the Rangers' double overtime loss in Game Four. In 38 AHL games with the Whale McDonagh scored 1 goal with 7 assists and was +1 with 12 PMs.

Talent Analysis

McDonagh is an excellent two-way defenseman, who is excellent positionally and has an edge to his game. His size and physicality add to his skating and passing abilities.

Future

After beginning the 2010-11 season in Hartford, McDonagh had established himself as a second pairing NHL defenseman by the end of the season. He is expected to continue in that role for the 2011-12 season.